International Forum on the Crisis of Housing:In Haiti, “Homes and Land are the Source of Life”

by Beverly Bell, Other World

[In light of the escalating tent camp
evictions happening around Port-au-Prince, we are republishing
this report originally issued by Other World on May 31, 2011]

Below are excerpts from the
International Forum on the Crisis of Housing, held in
Port-au-Prince May 19-21, 2011. During the forum, hundreds of
Haitians, plus allies from around the Americas, developed
strategies to force a solution to Haiti’s greatest crisis:
homelessness. Almost 17 months after the earthquake, more than
one in nine remain displaced in camps and in other dangerous and
inhumane lodging. Neither the government nor the international
community has offered any viable plan for resettlement of this
population. On the contrary, government officials and private
landowners are stepping up violent evictions of people in camps.

We, groups of survivors living in
internally displaced persons’ [IDP] camps plus social and
grassroots organizations, assembled for three days in
Port-au-Prince, state:

We heard testimonies about the
living conditions in IDP camps, wherein our basic rights as
individuals and communities are violated every day. We heard of
the many diseases contracted by people living under tarps, of
the pain of women suffering from all kinds of violence, and of
children who cannot attend school or plan for their futures;

We discovered that most of us
in the camps are living in fear. We live under the threat of
eviction, as both the government and private landowners are
maneuvering to force us out (even setting fire to some camps),
even though we have nowhere else to go. According to an
International Organization for Migration report published in
March 2011, more than 47,000 people have already been evicted
and 165,977 more face the threat of eviction. We resolve to
fight against these evictions and to ask for reparations for
victims of forced displacement, a human rights violation;

We were pleased to hear the
testimonies and analysis of friends from foreign countries like
the United States (New Orleans and Miami), Dominican Republic,
and Brazil on the struggle for housing rights. We salute the
determination of our friends and the movements they represent;

The Haitian government, ruling
classes, and international institutions have not responded to
the housing problems that millions of Haitians have long faced
and that have become more serious since January 12, 2010.
Sixteen months after the catastrophe, 700,000 people are living
in the streets and many more families are living in horrible
conditions in shantytowns. Many people had to return to damaged
houses that could collapse at any time. We reject false
solutions such as the distribution of tarps or building of
temporary shelters;

We resolve to continue the
struggle to force the state to define a policy on housing that
guarantees the right of all Haitians to have a home to live in
that respects their dignity. The government should start housing
construction projects to respond to our needs;

The government must define a
land use policy for the country. Before the earthquake, 80% of
the population in Port-au-Prince was living in 20% of the land.
We want housing discrimination to end. We reject all the wealth
and infrastructure being concentrated in only some parts of the
city. We also reject the reconstruction of the nation’s land
only to create free trade zones;

The Parliament must draft and
vote on a law to guarantee the right to housing;

The government must look for
and acquire land though expropriation [eminent domain] so that
there is sufficient space for housing needs;

The population must participate
in decision-making. We have to say what Port-au-Prince we want
to build. Those that come from other countries with plans
already drawn up cannot determine this for us;

We are ready to give our
contribution (in financing, work, and materials) so we can
create housing that respects people’s dignity. However, the
government must finance construction projects to let us get
housing as soon as possible, and immediately create a special
fund to finance public housing. There is a lot of money being
wasted that could be invested instead in housing;

Homes and land are the source
of life. The government and our communities must take all
measures for these resources to remain this source of life,
instead of turning them into a commodity;

Institutions like BNC (National
Bank of Commerce) and the commercial banks should establish
special programs to help the population repair or build good
houses, with particular attention paid to those with few
economic means and those with disabilities;

The government must implement
rent control, since rents have risen up to 17 times higher than
before [the earthquake]. We must keep speculators from making
millions off of our misery and despair;

The government must guarantee
security as to where we live. Land use must be based in
prevention of the biggest risks (earthquakes, hurricanes,
landslides, floods, tsunamis, etc). The government must develop
education and training programs so we can prepare for these and
other risks;

The right to housing cannot be
separated from our other rights: to work, health, education,
leisure, a clean environment, etc. All house construction must
be done in a way that facilitates our enjoyment of all of these
rights;

The Parliament should ratify
the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights as an important tool;

The government must plan for
public spaces that allow our communities to play sports, hold
meetings and assemblies, and carry out cultural activities;

We believe that cooperative
housing is a viable alternative for those without great economic
means;

We want houses that respect our
local architectural style and that use as much local material as
possible, representing our culture. We want houses to have yards
and gardens where we can grow vegetables and medicinal plants.
We want houses that respect a bit of privacy that everyone
needs. We want houses that provide space for us to live as
families with neighbors in the lakou [traditional communal
courtyard];

Each neighborhood must have a cultural
center to educate children and youth on the values of Haitian
culture;

In the houses we are building
as in collective infrastructure, we must remember people with
disabilities and facilitate their mobility and daily activities;

Every housing construction
project must give special attention to the rights of women. It
is good, whenever possible, for the title to the house to carry
the name of the husband and wife. In inheritance, men must not
benefit disproportionately to women. In housing law, the
government must protect the rights of women living alone or in a
family where a husband has multiple wives. Women and men have
the same right to housing. Our organizations must struggle
against all forms of physical and moral violence that women are
subjected to in the home. Work in the home must be shared
equally between men and women. We request a special training
program to allow women to be integrated into all levels of the
construction work being carried out;

We denounce the corruption
scandals in the management of housing programs by the
government, NGOs [non-governmental organizations], and the ICRH
[Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti].

We resolve to:

● Fight against forced evictions and all
forms of intimidation on the part of the government and
landowners, who inflict more misery on us when they force us to
move without providing alternative sites for housing. We ask all
communities to organize in order to rapidly circulate
information regarding intimidation and threats;

● Make the struggle for housing a priority,
and support homeless people and those living in camps;

● Disseminate information and conduct
trainings across the country, building organizational strength
to force the government to respect these rights;

● Remain mobilized to change our society
and our government, aimed at constructing a new state that gives
more importance to people’s lives than to money, and that
defends the interests of the exploited classes. Only this kind
of government can respond to our demands for housing;

● Stop considering housing as an issue that
can be resolved on an individual or familial basis. Only
collective solutions can revolve the problem of access to land
for us to build on, rent speculation, and environmental
management;

● Create training programs on radios, in
churches, temples, and schools. We will organize trainings and
debates in the camps and in low-income neighborhoods. We will
launch a special newsletter on what is happening in the camps
and shantytowns;

Participate in a week-long mobilization in
October 2011. We ask for a national day each year to celebrate
the right to housing for all;

● Ask all grassroots organizations and all
other movements to mobilize with us on the housing issue so that
we can achieve this dream of justice and liberty.

Signed by [hundreds of representatives from
at least 40 grassroots and Haitian non-governmental
organizations and at least 35 IDP camp committees in Haiti, plus
ally organizations from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, the
U.S., and Belgium].

May 21, 2011

Translated by Alexis Erkert and Monica
Dyer, with help by Beverly Bell.